Pacific Legal Foundation

The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is a public interest law firm in the U.S. that champions libertarian values. Its mission is to safeguard and advance individual and economic freedoms through legal action. PLF lawyers offer free legal assistance to those in need, submit amicus curiae briefs, and engage in administrative hearings to defend property rights, ensure equal treatment under the law, uphold free speech and association, promote economic liberty, and maintain the separation of powers. The foundation has represented clients in 14 cases at the United States Supreme Court, as detailed below. As a non-profit entity recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, PLF does not charge for its legal services. Instead, it relies on contributions from individuals (53%), foundations (17%), and associations, small businesses, and corporations (17%) for funding. Aside from attorney fees awarded by the court for winning cases, the organization does not receive government funding.

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Judge won't allow CFPB to vacate settlement in ‘unjust' Townstone case

2 weeks ago | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

Yesterday a federal judge rejected a joint motion to vacate a $105,000 fine paid by Pacific Legal Foundation client Townstone Financial in a settlement, even though the government admits the fine never should have been paid.
Washington Examiner: Does stopping Trump’s tariffs risk nuclear war?

2 weeks ago | pacificlegal.org | Josh Robbins

Does adherence to the separation of powers risk nuclear war? The federal government seems to think so. Fortunately, the U.S. Court of International Trade last week struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs as unlawful in companion cases brought by small businesses and 12 states. But the litigation will continue, likely up to the U.S. Supreme Court. So, it is worth briefly dwelling on the government’s argument, which raises the specter of nuclear war.
Carol Roth wishes Americans would be more individualist

3 weeks ago | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

In a wide-ranging conversation—touching on tariffs, COVID-19, protectionism, and American individualism—Anastasia Boden, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, spoke with Carol Roth, entrepreneur and bestselling author of You Will Own Nothing and The War on Small Business. Here are a few highlights from the conversation.
Federal investigation into TJ admissions revives national concern over K–12 racial discrimination

1 month ago | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened a Title VI investigation into Thomas Jefferson High School’s admissions policy—a 2020 policy that parents, teachers, and alumni challenged in court as discriminatory in a case litigated for three years by Pacific Legal Foundation. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Coalition for TJ case over strong objections from Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Board game companies sue Trump administration over unconstitutional tariffs

2 months ago | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

Board game companies Stonemaier Games, XYZ Game Labs, Spielcraft Games, Rookie Mage, and Tinkerhouse Games are suing the Trump administration over its tariffs, which President Donald Trump set at 145% for most products manufactured in China. Nearly 70% of board games are made in China, making the China tariff an “existential” threat to the American board game industry.
Ninth Circuit considers first grader’s free speech in ‘any life’ drawing case

2 months ago | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

Did a California school district violate the First Amendment when it punished a first grader for writing “Black Lives Mater [sic] … any life” on a drawing and giving it to a friend? That question was before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in oral arguments this week. Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Caleb Trotter argued the case of B.B. v.
Did President Trump break the law by firing FTC commissioners?

Mar 27, 2025 | pacificlegal.org | Josh Robbins

On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, President Donald Trump summarily fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission.
Rhode Island town seizes family’s land in eminent domain scandal

Mar 21, 2025 | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

A shocking eminent domain scandal is unfolding in Johnston, Rhode Island: Last week, the Town secretly took possession of a family’s 31-acre property, only notifying the owners afterward in a letter demanding they “remove all vehicles and other personal belongings from the property immediately” or they’d be served with a no trespass notice.
Here's the status of COVID-19 policies, 5 years later

Mar 18, 2025 | pacificlegal.org | Nicole W.C. Yeatman

The COVID-19 pandemic happened “gradually and then suddenly,” to steal from Hemingway. In early 2020, the U.S. Commerce Secretary optimistically predicted that the coronavirus outbreak in China would “help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America.” New York City’s health commissioner encouraged New Yorkers “to go about their everyday lives.” A doctor wrote a Los Angeles Times op-ed discouraging masks.
Courts' System for Issuing Preliminary Relief Is Broken

Mar 7, 2025 | pacificlegal.org | Josh Robbins

Two federal district courts determined in a single week that the Office of Management and Budget’s federal funding freeze had to be put on hold while the claims were resolved. The courts showed no hesitation in wading into a political dispute between Congress and the president. Yet every day, individual US citizens and small businesses are denied the same kind of preliminary relief when they present their legal challenges to government action.